Thornborough Archaeology Group

We had a very productive and enjoyable day fieldwalking at Langthorpe on Sunday. For those of you unaware of what is there, it looks to be a massive enclosure with an impressive earthwork, located just across the river from the Devil’s Arrows at Boroughbridge. We fieldwalked part of a large field through which this earthwork runs, and seeing the latter close-up brought home how large it actually it. The question, of course, is what is it? There are a number of interpretations, including the possibility it is a henge-enclosure, or super-henge as they are sometimes known. It would be nice if a day’s fieldwalking was enough to answer the question, but of course, it is not. We did, however, get 373 finds from the field. Most are post-medieval pot sherds or fragments of clay smocking pipe, but there was also a small number of worked lithics, largely from a scatter outside of the enclosure. For now Langthorpe keeps its secrets, but we will be back, to hopefully better understand what this enigmatic site actually is. I would like to thank all our wonderful volunteers for their commitment, endurance, and hardwork. You were fab!